Homemade Almond Milk & Almond Meal

Have you ever tried almond milk? I think it is delicious! It is dairy free and very healthy, but it's not cheap! Almost $4 per carton here in Australia when it's not on sale is too much to spend on milk twice a week. For this reason I decided to attempt to make my own. I looked at a few recipes on Pinterest, and created my own version. The good thing about it is almond milk super easy to make. 

Almond Milk

What you need:

• a bowl
• a blender
• a nut-milk bag or cheese cloth (bought mine at a health food shop)
• 1 cup unsalted almonds (not roasted)
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 4 cups water
• 1-2 dates or raw sugar to sweeten (optional - I didn't)
• a container/pitcher to put your milk in

First you need to soak your almonds in water for about 6-8 hours. Drain & rinse. 

Place almonds, 4 cups of water, 1 tbsp of vanilla, and sweetener (if you chose to use it) in your blender.  

Blend for 1-3 minutes. 

Pour almond mixture into nut-milk bag over your pitcher. 

Squeeze bag with almond mixture and get as much liquid out as possible. If you want to make more milk like I did, you can place the ground almonds (that you just used) back into the blender and repeat the entire process. 

After you finish you can use the ground almonds to make almond meal if you like.

Almond Meal

To make almond meal you spread the ground almonds (leftover after making the milk) evenly on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 1-2 hours on 300 degrees with oven door open if possible so the humidity can escape. If you leave the door closed, it may take a little longer. 

Bake until it begins to get dry and brown. 

Remove from oven, and place the almond meal into a food processor to grind into a fine powder. Use almond meal to bake with or however you prefer. 

This is a delicious recipe for paleo almond meal cookies!

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

This is my favorite breakfast lately. Not only is it healthy, but it is delicious! It is also super fast and easy to make in the mornings, which is great for me since I have to get up so early to catch the train for work.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe

• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp PB2 (or use natural peanut butter)
• 1 banana (frozen if you like colder smoothies)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

You will need a blender or food processor. Place the oats and in the blender and grind until the they are a fine powder. Add chia seeds, PB2, almond milk, and banana in pieces. Blend until smooth or all banana chunks are gone. Pour into your glass and enjoy!

Be Still

I've been receiving daily devotional emails from Christine Caine called First Things First. You should subscribe to receive them! They are very inspiring and just make you stop and think. Yesterday's email was about taking the time to pause for a moment in our busy lives and actually focus fully on God and all that He has done for us. I have had the opportunity to do this a little bit lately and it is amazing! The past two weekends Kyle and I have gone camping with friends and not had much of an agenda. We just sat or walked around and enjoyed all that the Lord has given us and how blessed we are. I really encourage you to take a moment to pause and focus on how great God is!

Enjoy a few of the photos my amazing husband took last weekend.

Steam coming up from a lake on our way to the mountains

Trail to the glow worm tunnel

The most Kangaroos we've seen at once

Beautiful sunset on the way home

Weight Loss Motivation

Are you looking for some motivation to lose weight or just to start working out?

Thanks to Sia Cooper at Diary of a Fit Mommy who recently posted about it, I found DietBet! You pay $35 into the pot and starting on May 1st you attempt to lose 4% of your current weight in 4 weeks. Whoever achieves their goal splits the pot. Sounds like pretty good motivation to me!

If you would like to join me in this Dietbet click on the link: http://diet.bt/QSmanM

Check out this video to find out how it works: https://www.dietbetter.com/dietbet-4/how-it-works

I will keep you updated on my progress along with some health tips I learn along the way.

Good Luck!

Thank You Jesus

This Easter weekend I am in awe of all that Christ did for me. Not only did He come to Earth in the form of a human being, but he died on a cross and rose from the dead 3 days later so that I can spend eternity with Him. As a result of what He did I am able to live, enjoy all that He created, and share His love with others. I was blessed with the opportunity to go camping in the Blue Mountains Friday night and enjoy His beautiful creation, and Sunday I was able to worship my Risen Savior with Hillsong Church in downtown Sydney. It was an amazing experience! One of the songs we sang Sunday night is called "Man of Sorrows" from the Glorious Ruins album, and I just love the words so I wanted to share it along with some photos from the weekend. 

Man of sorrows Lamb of God

By His own betrayed

The sin of man and wrath of God

Has been on Jesus laid

Silent as He stood accused

Beaten, mocked, and scorned

Bowing to the Father's will

He took a crown of thorns

Oh that rugged cross

My Salvation

Where Your love poured out over me

Now my soul cries out 

Hallelujah

Praise and Honor unto Thee

Sent of Heaven, God's own Son

To purchase and redeem

And reconcile the very ones

Who nailed Him to that tree

Oh that rugged cross

My Salvation

Where Your love poured out over me

Now my soul cries out 

Hallelujah

Praise and Honor unto Thee

Now my debt is paid

It is paid in full

By the precious blood

That my Jesus spilled

Now the curse of sin 

Has no hold on me

Whom the Son sets free

Oh is free indeed

Oh that rugged cross

My Salvation

Where Your love poured out over me

Now my soul cries out 

Hallelujah

Praise and Honor unto Thee

See the stone is rolled away

Behold the empty tomb

Hallelujah God be praised

He is risen from the grave

Oh that rugged cross

My Salvation

Where Your love poured out over me

Now my soul cries out 

Hallelujah

Praise and Honor unto Thee

Well as you can see we had alot of fun. Can't wait until our next trip!

Ch Ch Ch Chia

Do you remember that jingle for Chia Pets? Well watching that commercial was the only time I had ever heard of Chia until recently when I discovered Chia Seeds and the fact that they are really good for you.  Now I am obsessed!

These are a few of the reasons that I love Chia:

- It is a superseed and the highest plant source of Omega-3

- Gluten-free

- Not processed

- High in fiber

- Rich in protein

- High in antioxidants

- It has more calcium that milk

- High in other vitamins and minerals

- Helps to balance blood-glucose levels

- Keeps you hydrated 

- Keeps you full longer

Chia is just an amazing seed! It absorbs up to 10 times it's weight in water and forms a gel-like substance. This is what helps to keep you full and hydrated.

This is the Chia I buy

I love to eat Chia with my breakfast in the mornings. It doesn't have much of a taste, there is just a little crunch. It is delicious sprinkled over the top of cereal with milk, fruit and yogurt, it is also good on oatmeal, or in smoothies for an extra boost.

Found this pin on Pinterest

Most grocery stores have Chia in the health food/gluten free section.

If you would like more info or recipes with Chia click here or you can always search on Pinterest.

Weekends are for Food and Fun

Preparing the food

Our friends Adrian and Linda had an engagement party this weekend. I had the opportunity to help the amazing Nancy out a little with the food! I learned how to make lemon ginger meringue tarts, use a blow torch, whip my own cream, fill puff pastries, and so much more. It was so much fun to learn so many new things in just a few hours. I went home for a bit to get ready, grab the hubs, and then headed back for the party. They had such a cute and rustic setup with pallet tables, milk crate seats, mason jars, and lanterns. etc. I had such a great time spending time talking to friends! I'm so happy for Adrian and Linda!

Congrats Adrian and Linda!

Some of the Merrylands Crew

Friday night we also had neon night at youth and it was a big hit! Everyone was decked out and glowing under the blacklights. The atmosphere was great, worship was amazing and, Ben Little brought the word. It has been an awesome weekend so far!